Awakening the Priestess Within

By Kim Oursler

Driving to the Introductory Weekend of Awakening the New Millennium Priestess Process™, I found great apprehension nestled in my tummy. It took the form of a knot of fear and suspicion. I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, knowing that I was to at least see what this whole “Priestess Process™” thing was about.

The weekend was held in a clubhouse which was part of an apartment complex. Before I entered the clubhouse, I cloaked myself in anonymity. I did not really want to be seen or to exchange pleasantries with strangers. Little did I know that these women were about to become part of a lifelong Sisterhood. I made my way to the back of the room and found the registration table. The scent of sage smoke wafted through the air and I turned to find its source. A short, stocky woman with flaming red cropped hair named Shae stood with a large abalone shell and a smudging fan filled with feathers. She told me to write down whatever was holding me back from embracing this process. I named my fear on that slip of paper along with past betrayals by women. I watched as flames engulfed the paper and transformed it quickly to ashes. Shae allowed the smoke to wash over my body in a cleansing way and I inhaled the sacred, familiar scent.

The ding of Tibetan prayer bells called us into circle. There were 22 women new to the process and 5 apprentices who had been through the process in a previous circle. A woman with shiny long straight hair and gorgeous turquoise eyes named Anyaa McAndrew welcomed us with a smile. She was the facilitator of the process. She instructed us to form an inner circle of 11 women facing out. The remaining 11 women were to form a circle facing in. Our two circles gazed at each other. Anyaa asked us to look into the eyes of the woman facing us. “She is your sister,” she stated as she proceeded to lead us into a guided meditation. “See her as a child, see her giggling and laughing at age four.” Many of us smiled and began to laugh a little as we glimpsed the possibility of a newfound “sister”. “Now see her Divine Feminine spark as you look into her left eye.” I felt my own light shine a bit more and began to feel strong. We each received the Divine Feminine mirrored back to us in the woman we stood before. “With permission, place your hands over the heart chakra space of your sister,” Anyaa instructed. My new sister, Emily, asked if she could place her hands close to my chest. I answered yes. Her hands hovered on my front and back, covering the heart space. “Now whisper this into her ear,” Anyaa shared and Emily leaned in to my left ear. She whispered, “I apologize for the hurt that women have caused you…in this lifetime, and in all others.” Whoosh! I felt something flush through my body from the heart space, racing down into my legs, leaving my feet and joining with Mother Earth. Tears filled my eyes and I knew that no matter what sort of commitment I had to make to these women and this process, I would do it. The fear was gone, the suspicion was gone and I opened like a child filled with the wonder of the world.

The Priestess Processâ„¢ was a nine-month journey into the seat of my own soul. The 22 women became my sisters. Together, we were initiated as Priestesses of the Goddess. We created divine works of art that represented the angels within each of us. We stated intentions that held great power and were blessed by the entire circle. We faced the shadow of ourselves and found healing. We shared the stories of our spiritual journeys and found that we had been guided all along to lives of awakened purpose and action. We learned about Shamanic Astrology and worked with archetypes that enlightened us more about who we were and why we are here. We released old stories, old patterns, and old ways that no longer served our highest good. We welcomed in the New, knowing that it was a complete mystery but trusting in it all the same. We embodied the Truth of the Divine Feminine and committed to continually opening to Her in our own selves.

When I want to connect with this Sisterhood of Priestesses, I recall dancing with my sisters during the Priestess Processâ„¢ as a moving time of meditation. There were times when emotions poured through me as I claimed my body and moved it in a way that was unique to my own inner rhythm. Looking on the circle with half-closed eyes, it seemed we were transported to another time, a time of the Temple Priestesses where the scent of frankincense and myrrh blended with the sound of jingling bells and tinkling chimes. The women flowed in their grace of movement and seemed much more alive at the end of every dance. This image remains in my heart, forming a healing connection to women Seen and Unseen, Known and Unknown. It is a blessing to me and an awakening from which I will never be released.

Kim Oursler is a writer, mother, and High Priestess. She is a spiritual midwife for women walking the sacred path and open doors for herself in order to light the way for others.